Interview: Kimpton CEO Sees IHG Helping to Propel Its International Expansion

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants CEO Mike DeFrino first started working for Kimpton in 1992, when company founder Bill Kimpton hired him to the be the general manager of The Alexis in Seattle. And ever since, DeFrino has been with the company that played a pioneering role in the modern boutique hotels movement in the U.S. and has since been acquired by one of the world's largest hotel companies — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in 2014. DeFrino recently sat down with Skift to discuss the progress Kimpton has been making since the deal, as well as the future of boutique hotels, loyalty, and hospitality overall. Since IHG’s acquisition of Kimpton, the brand has now begun to expand internationally while still maintaining its sense of independence from the larger corporation. This extends to the hotel company’s loyalty program, although next year it will be combined with IHG’s program. As DeFrino continues to lead Kimpton, he said he’s committed to ensuring that Kimpton's independent streak remains, and that the company can keep focusing on what it does best: running boutique hotels and restaurants. Skift Editor's Note: DeFrino's comments have been edited for clarity and length. Kimpton's Growth DeFrino said thanks to IHG, the brand is expanding globally. "We opened our first hotel two weeks ago in Amsterdam. It's our first hotel out of the United States or out of, I should say, North America, because we've had hotels in Canada before," DeFrino said. "But it's really exciting and it's sort of a tribute to the whole Kimpton-IHG relationship because we had gone nearly 35 years without being able to spread our footprint across either ocean. "Now we were able to put something on the map and show sort of the products of this relationship. There'll be more to come. We opened in the Caribbean as well and we have a signing and planned opening in Paris in a few years. It took a little while for people to understand, outside of the U.S. what Kimpton is, but with IHG's reach and their penetration in the global markets, it sort of started to bear fruit right away, so we're pretty excited for that." While opening its first property outside North America, Kimpton is not neglecting the U.S. "We're also continuing to do what we do here in the United States. We have seven additional openings in 2017. All in U.S. cities from Denver to LA and Palm Springs and Charlotte and Nashville. All of them are new builds and we've never had tha